


Confrontations

by ohmytheon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 18:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2742617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(AU) Catelyn returns to the Vale for the funeral of young Robert Arryn, but something is strangely amiss when it comes to the new Lord Protector of the Vale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confrontations

_Will I spend the rest of my life in mourning?_ Catelyn thought wearily as the ship docked. She tugged on her cloak, sinking further into its warmth, and tried to cling to any remaining warm feelings left inside her. The Vale was bitter cold, reminding her of the North, but it was not the temperature that made her shiver. Once they were at the Eyrie, it would be worse. She could handle worse – she could do worse – but that didn’t make it any easier for her. Pain was still pain; just because she’d gone through so much did not make it hurt any less.

“My lady, what are you doing out here? You will catch your death.”

The smile on Catelyn’s face was a peculiar one, if not mocking. She turned to face her husband. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Tywin Lannister settled a hard look on her. “You know, I did not have to agree to this.”

“No, you didn’t,” Catelyn sighed, almost immediately deflating and looking back out to the shoreline. The fight had left her as quickly as it had come. She was too tired, too old. “I should be thanking you, my lord.”

“Oh, in earnest?” Tywin stepped to her side. “That is not like you at all. Should I be concerned?”

It almost sounded like a jest, but she knew better. “I think not.” Catelyn looked up at the mountains, thinking of the last time she’d come here. It had been nearly three years, but she had climbed these mountains with a Lannister back then too. Instead now she was the captive and the Lannister was the captor, the leader father instead of the outcast son. Life was both truly ironic and ruthless. “You did not have to come.”

“No, I didn’t, yet again,” Tywin replied, “but a husband has his duties to his wife as well.” If it had been Ned in Tywin’s place, he would have held her against his strong chest, his calmly beating heart relaxing her, but Ned was dead and she was in a new life. Tywin did not believe in mollycoddling or comforting; his cold approach was to make those around him stronger on their own. “Besides, he was the Warden of the East. It makes sense for me to come.”

“Warden of the East.” Catelyn’s eyes dropped to the dark waves crashing against the boat. “He was a _child_.”

Tywin snorted. “It seems as if children are ruling everywhere these days.”

“As if anyone thinks Westeros is being ruled by anyone but you,” Catelyn pointed out. She glanced back up to the mountains, a frown sketched deeply onto her face. “I doubt Robert Arryn ran the Vale. When I last saw her…” Saying anything would feel like a betrayal of her family, but not saying anything at all would be damning enough. Life had been rough for her little sister, Catelyn knew; and it made her feel guilty that she could not have been there for her more in their adulthood. “I could not be sure if Lysa was ruling the Vale. She’d changed so much.”

The world was run by hard men, cold men like Tywin Lannister. There were nights when she didn’t think that was a good idea- men did not always understand how people truly lived – but when compared to a child like Robert, or even to her son, her dead son, whose crown had weighed so heavily it had squashed his childhood and innocence… She knew that it was a good thing. Children should not have to bear the weight of ruling.

They returned back inside of the cabin as the boat finished docking. When it was finally time to head up to the Eyrie, Catelyn followed Tywin quietly. He glanced back at her only once, but let her be for the rest of the ride. She did not want to be here, but in her heart, she knew that she had to be. Robert was her blood, Lysa’s blood; and she owned her sister this much since she had not been able to come when Lysa herself had been murdered.

 _I am here now, Lysa,_ Catelyn thought as the mule carrying her crawled up the steep path. _No more bitterness, no more anger, only my sorrow._

The time spent traveling flew by quickly, though she knew that it took time. She lost track of what was going on, even the snow falling on her shoulders. She hadn’t even realized that they had come to a stop until a dark-haired girl said, “My lady,” and was helping her down from the mule. Her feet dipped into the snow and a cold chill ran all the way from her toes to her head.

Catelyn focused on the girl before her, anchoring herself to the present. “I…I know you.”

The girl – no, she was a young woman now – smiled. It looked like she was hiding some sort of amusing secret. “We have met before, my lady, though only twice, when you first came and then left.”

“Stone,” Catelyn said, the name suddenly jumping into her mind, “Mya Stone.” The girl nodded her head, gave something of a little mocking bow, and then started to walk towards the castle, leading the group. She would not have done such a thing had Tywin been talking to her, but Catelyn cared little for punishing people for jokes, even in dark times. “Are you…?”

“No,” Mya replied without bothering to look back, not a care in the world in her voice, “I am still a Stone. Probably always will be – I’m not really the marrying type, to be honest, not that any decent man would want a bastard girl.” At this, the girl looked back to the group of travelers and waved towards the large doors as they were opened by servants. “The Lord Protector” – there was a strange way she said the title, as if it too was a joke – “has made sure that warm food and your quarters are ready for you.”

As everyone began to walk inside, even Tywin, who gave her a passing glance, Catelyn stayed behind. “Are you not coming inside?”

Mya shook her head. “I cannot, my lady. Who else will take care of the mules in my stead? Besides, I have other…duties that I must attend to.” With that, the younger girl turned and walked to the animals.

Sighing, Catelyn entered the castle. She most certainly did not want to dine with the new Lord Protector of the Vale, but also knew that she could not avoid him forever. Sooner or later, she would have to confront Lord Petyr Baelish and she would have to be pleasant to the man that had betrayed her husband and doomed him to his death. Everyone quickly settled in the dining area as servants put their traveling belongings away. The moment food was presented to them, everyone suddenly seemed to realize that they were famished. Catelyn herself felt little want for food, but she sat down next to Tywin regardless of the fact.

They were halfway through the main course when the doors to the side opened and Petyr walked into the room. She realized, not with any surprise, that it looked as if he fit in to his new title. The role of the Lord Protector of the Vale had become Petyr Baelish. He was most certainly no longer the little boy who she’d tricked into eating mud pies for her or the man that had told her with earnest that he would help her husband. “Pardon my lateness,” Petyr said as he sat down. “I had business to attend to that I had not yet finished before I joined you.”

Catelyn watched him carefully. He was very deft with the other men in the room. While he knew almost everyone by name, there were a few he didn’t recognize and he was polite as he learned their names and titles. He didn’t speak to her yet, but when they connected eyes for a brief moment, she turned her head away from him. She caught sight of someone in the hallway, a willowy, dark shadow of a girl in a dress. The moment the girl realized she’d been seen, she darted out of view. It had probably been a servant girl, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping on the meeting between lords, but there had been something about the girl that struck a familiar cord in Catelyn, just as seeing Mya had.

The feeling of someone grabbing her hand under the table startled Catelyn out of her moody thoughts. When she glanced to her right, she saw that Tywin wasn’t looking at her, paying close attention to Petyr, but she knew it was his hand that was holding hers. She began to relax and started to eat again. She hadn’t even realized how tense she had become until now. She sat there quietly, refusing to connect eyes with her childhood friend, and listened as the men spoke around her. It wasn’t her place to speak, though she had no desire to talk anyways; it was difficult enough to convince herself that she needed to eat.

“I heard a strange thing about you, Lord Baelish,” Tywin suddenly said. Both Catelyn and Petyr looked towards her lord husband. Tywin was not normally one for rumors that swirled around the court, so it intrigued her that he would bring one up.

“Many things are said in King’s Landing, aren’t they?” Petyr replied in his most pleasant tone. “It is much quieter here in the Eyrie, I must say, not nearly as many little birds to chirp.”

“I’m sure it is,” Tywin said, “but this one was curious. I heard that you have a natural daughter and that she is living here with you.”

At this, Catelyn nearly choked on her food. Instead, she looked directly to Petyr. “You have a _child_?” It did not feel very fair at all to her that he should have a living child appear in his life just as all of hers had been taken away from her.

To his credit, Petyr avoided her gaze, looking somewhat ashamed and embarrassed. “You would be correct, my lord. Her name is Alayne. She is a…very sweet girl. Her mother kept her from me; and Alayne had the intentions of becoming a sept, but, well, children tend to change their minds very easily.”

“Where is she?” Catelyn practically demanded.

“In her bedchamber,” Petyr answered. “I’m afraid she is not feeling well. Since young Lord Robert’s passing, she has grown…incredibly despondent. They were close, you see. After my wife’s… Well, Alayne began to take care of Robert, as a mother would. She is young herself, but full of heart, more so than her mother and I combined. She took his death worse than anyone here. I find it difficult to convince her to leave her room on most days.”

Catelyn set her knife down. She had been holding it like a weapon and forced herself to relax again. “Perhaps I could speak with her. A woman’s touch might be what she needs.”

Petyr smiled, though this time, she could see the strain on his face. “Do you not think I am a capable father?”

“I have no doubt that you have a remarkable way with words, my lord,” Catelyn said coolly, feeling a calmness settle over her that she had not thought she was capable of, “but sometimes what a woman needs is another woman, not even her father.”

She could’ve sworn that she saw a small smirk on Tywin’s face out of the corner of her eyes.

On the other hand, Petyr nodded his head. “You may be right,” he conceded. “There is little in the way of female company for my dear Alayne. I will speak to her tonight and hear her thoughts on the matter. She is still a very shy girl.”

Talk of his bastard daughter ended at that. Dessert was brought to them and talk shifted to petty matters, like the shipments of wine to the Vale and other things that Catelyn cared little for. She ate her dessert slowly, her thoughts mulling on this natural child of Petyr’s that had come out of nowhere and the shadow of the girl she had seen in the hallway earlier. Petyr seemed very intent on keeping his daughter away from their sights. While the rest of the men might have believed his words, she could only hear excuses. Maybe he was embarrassed or maybe he was hiding something. Either way, she wanted to pry all of his secrets out of him while she could and lay them bare, even if only for herself.

Secrets got people killed. House Stark and Tully knew that much and would not forget it soon.


End file.
